It’s estimated that councils expect to collect £885 million from parking fees this financial year, with that figure set to rise to £1 billion in 2019/2020.

But Steve Gooding, RAC Foundation spokesman, questions if the rises will actually help town centres improve footfall and enable high streets to thrive, or are simply moneymaking exercises.

He said: “With sums this large in play, the question must be whether they are actually helping […], or whether it feels more like motorists being targeted to help increasingly cash-strapped councils balance their books.”

Councillor Martin Tett, the transport spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA), reassured the public that local councils are on the side of motorists and shoppers.

He said: “They have to strike a balance when setting parking policy, both on street and off street, to make sure that there are spaces available for residents, high streets are kept vibrant and traffic is kept moving.

“Any income raised through on-street parking charges is spent on running parking services and any surplus is only spent on essential transport projects, such as tackling our national £9billion roads repair backlog and other transport projects that benefit high streets and local economies.”